Blonde will make thin ....Here we go again !

[EvilPie]

Als being on here and already losing 16kg tells me you have/had a huge amount to lose. Never under estimate how hard consistency is  I'm sure someone as dedicated as Matt used to be can attest to that.

FYP

But yes he's right. It's a bit of a cliché but to lose 16kg and maintain that loss requires a lifestyle change not just a diet.

I've always hated dieting to be honest. The whole idea of it is very short term. People seem to want to lose a load of weight and then go back to how they were in the hope that they won't put it back on. Sorry but that's not how it works.

Losing 16kg quickly and maintaining it is going to take 2 big changes. Firstly the huge reduction and then once you hit 90kg finding a new routine that maintains 90kg. You'd be much better off just going straight to the maintainable routine now. You won't be able to stay at 106kg on a diet designed to keep you at 90kg so you'll just naturally lose weight as you slowly get towards your goal. It might take 6 months. maybe as much as a year but when you get there it'll be easy to stay there because your routine will be set in stone.

Good luck mate. Will be following your progress and offering advice whichever way you go.

[EvilPie]

Read all posts since my last. Good luck to all of you. Some serious shiftage of weight there Soviet, well done. Share the same annoyance with you about calorie counting, look up the "John McDougall program for maximum weight loss" for a left field alternative to your current diet if you fancy. Even if not applied it will be a decent alternative on board.

Not taking down my weight anymore. I think from what I am eating and body composition I am in and around the target weight. I just need to tone up now. As you all know I am protective and love the diet that I have basically done without much exercise losing 108lbs to date in 15 months. So that is sorted.

Now though I really need help on effective exercise. I am unfit. My goal is to be muscular (so not too big) for football as well as quicker than I am and have a lot more stamina. At present and for the last 2 days straight I have ran 3 miles a day at 1.5x walking pace (very slow) and on every other day I am going to do a full body dumbbell workout with 15kg on each one.

The routine is to hit around 3 sets of 10-15 reps everywhere I can, reducing for problem areas. Should I be going harder? Is this ok as an introductory plan to build baseline fitness or is it not enough? It feels good as a start.

Losing 108lb in 15 months is incredible!! I know that I go on about steady loss and avoiding 'crash' or 'fad' diets but the fact is they do work for some people and thanks to your dedication you're one of them.

As for your training, 3 sets of 10-15 reps is absolutely fine if that's the way you want to go. You'll never get big with those numbers but that seems to be your target so it looks perfect. The important thing is that a 10-15 rep range is fine as long as your last couple of reps are really difficult. If you just set in your mind that you're doing 12 and then stop you might as well not be there. Have your target and if you reach it easily then you need to increase the weight or find another way of pre-exhausting the muscles.

[EvilPie]

My food intake has been really good since I bought my NutriBullet drink maker.

I've had juicers before but the hassle of cleaning the bloody things has always put me off them before too long. I can now make a healthy fruit drink including cleaning up in less than 5 minutes.

Breakfast before training was always a protein shake but now it's banana, apple & spinach or banana, pear and spinach or any other similar concoction.

With the protein shake I always needed to eat again at about 7.30 but with this I can easily go 'til 9am when I have a healthy snack bar. Lunch at 12.30pm is tuna, mayo + a toasted pitta. Another veg or fruit based drink at 5pm and then chicken on pitta/fajita about 8pm does me for the day.

I haven't worked out the precise calorie count or macros as I know I don't need to at the moment. It's all super healthy so it simply has to be good. There's a concern that the protein and carb levels might not be enough for training but it hasn't been a problem so far and I seem full of energy when I need it. When I decide I want to increase muscle mass I'll have to look in to exactly what I'm taking in. I doubt I'm anywhere near the protein levels I need to grow so once I hit my body fat goal I'll need to make some changes.

A word of warning for anyone thinking about a nutrbullet. They make healthy drinks but not necessarily tasty ones!! They aren't a juicer. A juicer extracts the juice and takes about 5 or 6 pieces of fruit to make a pint of delicious tasting juice. The nutribullet uses the whole fruit/veg, skin, stalk, the lot and mixes it with water so the tastes can be a bit....... 'earthy.....' I've had to throw a couple of concoctions down the sink as I've experimented but most of them have been tolerable.

Pretty sure I can stick with this and it's a great way of getting your 5 a day in a convenient format so I'm really happy with it.

[sovietsong]

Als being on here and already losing 16kg tells me you have/had a huge amount to lose. Never under estimate how hard consistency is  I'm sure someone as dedicated as Matt used to be can attest to that.

FYP

But yes he's right. It's a bit of a cliché but to lose 16kg and maintain that loss requires a lifestyle change not just a diet.

I've always hated dieting to be honest. The whole idea of it is very short term. People seem to want to lose a load of weight and then go back to how they were in the hope that they won't put it back on. Sorry but that's not how it works.

Losing 16kg quickly and maintaining it is going to take 2 big changes. Firstly the huge reduction and then once you hit 90kg finding a new routine that maintains 90kg. You'd be much better off just going straight to the maintainable routine now. You won't be able to stay at 106kg on a diet designed to keep you at 90kg so you'll just naturally lose weight as you slowly get towards your goal. It might take 6 months. maybe as much as a year but when you get there it'll be easy to stay there because your routine will be set in stone.

Good luck mate. Will be following your progress and offering advice whichever way you go.

i agree its not going to be easy & i won't be returning to the diet i had when i was 118kg, it was ridiculous back then, i was eating such rubbish all the time & was heading for type 2 diabetes.  I've not been eating terribly but not eating well enough to lose weight so i'm back on the weight loss now & when i've hit my goal i will be focusing on keeping at that 90kg mark.

It may take longer than 12 weeks but 1kg a week for 12 weeks is more than doable.  If i go over by a few weeks then so be it.  I just want a goal & thats what i'm going with.

Its my parents ruby wedding anniversary today so have been out for a meal, it wasn't healthy but i didn't drink or have desert so could have been worse!

[zerofive]

The routine is to hit around 3 sets of 10-15 reps everywhere I can, reducing for problem areas. Should I be going harder? Is this ok as an introductory plan to build baseline fitness or is it not enough? It feels good as a start.

Can you be a bit more specfic than "everywhere?" It sounds good, but it might be too intense or not intense enough in specific places. What would you consider "problem areas?"

"Yes," is almost always the answer to "should I be going harder?"

There are a couple of really good programs online. It really depends on your definition of baseline fitness. Are you looking to build a good level of strength, do you want to run a marathon, do you just want to look shredded etc

[zerofive]

I'm not sure, I don't really like counting everything but know I'm having a lot less than usual. If I struggle over the next few weeks I might start counting the calories & protein etc.

Absolutely no reason to count everything forever more, that would be a tragic waste of time and effort

I think it's good to count calories and macros - only for a week or so - to get a good idea of what you're eating and what sort of nutrients your favourite foods contain etc. You will be able to identify very quickly if you are eating too much or too little, or if your macronutrient ratios are good or horrible.

It sounds like more of a drag than it is. You eat 3 meals per day with a few healthy snacks. Just have a look at the back of the packet before you scarf it down and make a quick note somewhere.

The reason I'm saying this is that a very common problem for people who are "on a diet," to eat too few calories. With a quick look at your daily intake, it's easy to see why you felt weak at the gym on chest day! I'm in the process of re-working my diet because I'm not eating quite enough and I feel like I eat loads!

I'll post my diet today and see what iRaise makes of it

Looking forward to seeing what you're eating!  Googling macro's as we speak.

Okay here we go:

Breakfast/Pre-Workout

• Mushroom Omelette (consisting of 4 large chestnut mushrooms, 4 whole eggs plus 2 additional egg whites, all cooked in around 10ml of olive oil)
• Cold Oatmeal (150g oatmeal, 300ml semi-skimmed milk, a dash of cinnamon
• Strong Coffee (with 75ml of semi-skimmed milk)

Calories: 1,106 / Protein: 67g / Carbs: 115g / Fat: 42g

Post-Workout

• Protein Shake (consisting of 300ml semi-skimmed milk, 30g vanilla whey protein powder, 50g dextrose, and 5g creatine
• Banana
• Cadbury's Creme Egg

Calories: 706 / Protein: 37g / Carbs: 112g / Fat: 12g

Lunch
Pesto Chicken & Pasta (one chicken breast, 150g wholemeal pasta, a handful of broccoli, a handful of asparagus and roughly 30g of pesto

Calories: 531 / Protein: 45g / Carbs: 45g / Fat: 19g

Snack
Protein Shake (30g chocolate whey protein powder with 300ml semi-skimmed milk)

Calories: 254 / Protein: 34g / Carbs: 16g / Fat: 6g

Dinner
Tuna Steak & Veg (one tuna steak, a handful of chopped peppers and moar broccoli)

Calories: 174 / Protein: 37g / Carbs: 2g / Fat: 2g

Totals
Calories: 2,771 / Protein: 220g / Carbs: 290g / Fat: 81g

I shoot for a massive breakfast because it's my workout fuel as well; I need to go from drowsy to ready for squats in the time it takes to cook and eat one meal Most of my carbohydrate intake is immediately before and immediately after my workout for what I hope should be obvious reasons. I get roughly 50g of protein per day from my protein drinks so I still get 170g of protein without them; I would recommend them as a post-workout drink as your body will be screaming for some protein straight after an intense session at the gym, but there's no need to go bonkers on supplements or anything.

Any questions just ask.

[EvilPie]

Hey Sean

I appreciate what you're saying about needing fuel for your workout but that first meal is the sort of thing elite body builders would be aiming for not us mere mortals.

Looks like way too much food for a single sitting and also unless it's incredibly sugary (which it isn't) there's no way it's all going to become fuel for your actual workout. I'd guess at least half of what you eat is still being processed by the time you eat that second meal. You say that you need to go from drowsy to squats in a short time but it might be that consuming that amount of food actual contributes to your tiredness. Your body has to use energy to process food and if you throw that amount of protein and oatmeal at it in a single sitting it's got a lot of work to do at the same time as blasting out those squats.

I'd recommend that you try splitting that first meal and see if it makes any positive difference to your training. What you're consuming there is very similar to what I used to do and I found that changing to a target of 30 to 40g of protein per meal 6 to 8 times a day worked brilliantly. Just give it a couple of weeks and if it doesn't help swap back or try something else.

If you could split that first meal in to a pre/post workout meal then move everything down one I think you'd have great full day. Have the oatmeal based meal pre training and the eggs afterwards. I'd also throw in a protein shake pre workout because from what I can gather you train quite hard.

From experimentation I've found the perfect meal for me pre-workout is 50g oatmeal mixed with a decent meal replacement type protein shake. 150g of oatmeal in one sitting is excessive unless you've grown a lot since I last saw you and as it's a slow release carb it's unlikely to be used as fuel for your workout.

Oh... erm..... sorry to go on but 1L of milk a day seems a bit much....... I know it doesn't help the taste but if you can have your protein shakes with water they'll be loads better.

One final thing. Excellent work with the cream egg 

[sovietsong]

Today's weigh in was a little disappointing stuck at 102kg, not the end of the world as last week i hadn't eaten or drank much before the weigh in. 

I've been reading a lot about diets & fat loss following some of the advice on here & think that i'm not eating enough.  I'm going to keep it clean but make sure I'm not starving myself.

Today's food

Banana
Protein Shake

Shoulders & Legs at the gym - pushed hard but enjoyed it & wasn't too tired.

2 small chicken breasts, with wholegrain rice & nando's marinade.

Do plan on having 5-6 pints watching football, no curry this evening though.

[zerofive]

Hey Sean

I appreciate what you're saying about needing fuel for your workout but that first meal is the sort of thing elite body builders would be aiming for not us mere mortals.

Looks like way too much food for a single sitting and also unless it's incredibly sugary (which it isn't) there's no way it's all going to become fuel for your actual workout. I'd guess at least half of what you eat is still being processed by the time you eat that second meal. You say that you need to go from drowsy to squats in a short time but it might be that consuming that amount of food actual contributes to your tiredness. Your body has to use energy to process food and if you throw that amount of protein and oatmeal at it in a single sitting it's got a lot of work to do at the same time as blasting out those squats.

I'd recommend that you try splitting that first meal and see if it makes any positive difference to your training. What you're consuming there is very similar to what I used to do and I found that changing to a target of 30 to 40g of protein per meal 6 to 8 times a day worked brilliantly. Just give it a couple of weeks and if it doesn't help swap back or try something else.

If you could split that first meal in to a pre/post workout meal then move everything down one I think you'd have great full day. Have the oatmeal based meal pre training and the eggs afterwards. I'd also throw in a protein shake pre workout because from what I can gather you train quite hard.

From experimentation I've found the perfect meal for me pre-workout is 50g oatmeal mixed with a decent meal replacement type protein shake. 150g of oatmeal in one sitting is excessive unless you've grown a lot since I last saw you and as it's a slow release carb it's unlikely to be used as fuel for your workout.

Oh... erm..... sorry to go on but 1L of milk a day seems a bit much....... I know it doesn't help the taste but if you can have your protein shakes with water they'll be loads better.

One final thing. Excellent work with the cream egg 

Thanks for the breakdown Matt. I've been playing around a little bit with my diet because, as you say, that much oatmeal in the morning is a workout in itself. Here are some things I've been considering:

When berries are in season, I drop the oat consumption to 100g and fill in the missing carbs with fruit; I've experimented with differing amounts of food for breakfast and my workouts really suffer unless I eat shitloads (I recently dropped to 5 eggs total and 120g oats and suddenly an 80kg bench was heavy and I couldn't even get a 150kg deadlift off the floor). Having said that, I feel like I want to do something slightly different. Fwiw I give it about 60-90 minutes before I hit the gym and train for around an hour (sometimes longer because of waiting for equipment etc.)

Milk is slowly being reduced. When I was "bulking" (hate that term as it's basically bodybuilder speak for "getting fat") I was getting through around 2 litres and as I'm dropping calories ahead of summer, the milk and the creme egg will be the first to go! Amount of pesto/peanut butter/olive oil consumed per sitting will be next

[sovietsong]

I'm no expert but think you'd be crazy to drop the cream egg

[zerofive]

I'm no expert but think you'd be crazy to drop the cream egg

It's alright, they don't break when you drop them. 

[Ant040689]

Read all posts since my last. Good luck to all of you. Some serious shiftage of weight there Soviet, well done. Share the same annoyance with you about calorie counting, look up the "John McDougall program for maximum weight loss" for a left field alternative to your current diet if you fancy. Even if not applied it will be a decent alternative on board.

Not taking down my weight anymore. I think from what I am eating and body composition I am in and around the target weight. I just need to tone up now. As you all know I am protective and love the diet that I have basically done without much exercise losing 108lbs to date in 15 months. So that is sorted.

Now though I really need help on effective exercise. I am unfit. My goal is to be muscular (so not too big) for football as well as quicker than I am and have a lot more stamina. At present and for the last 2 days straight I have ran 3 miles a day at 1.5x walking pace (very slow) and on every other day I am going to do a full body dumbbell workout with 15kg on each one.

The routine is to hit around 3 sets of 10-15 reps everywhere I can, reducing for problem areas. Should I be going harder? Is this ok as an introductory plan to build baseline fitness or is it not enough? It feels good as a start.

Losing 108lb in 15 months is incredible!! I know that I go on about steady loss and avoiding 'crash' or 'fad' diets but the fact is they do work for some people and thanks to your dedication you're one of them.

As for your training, 3 sets of 10-15 reps is absolutely fine if that's the way you want to go. You'll never get big with those numbers but that seems to be your target so it looks perfect. The important thing is that a 10-15 rep range is fine as long as your last couple of reps are really difficult. If you just set in your mind that you're doing 12 and then stop you might as well not be there. Have your target and if you reach it easily then you need to increase the weight or find another way of pre-exhausting the muscles.

Cheers for the training tips. The last couple of reps are tough to do, as soon as they are not I will be upping the weight. Advice on recovery after a full body weights session where you have gone relatively hard. Is one days rest after it ok to go again the day after?

As for the diet I am on EvilPie, it isn't a fad nor a crash one. It is unlimited calories, concentrating on plant based whole foods vegan, with no oils or processed sugar. So i eat more on this than i did when i was fat and keep a good weight. I feel so good on it, that even though i was a rampant meat and dairy eater at the start of 2014 at 24 years old, I am now going to be a healthy life long vegan in diet. 

Also it was relatively progressive in terms of loss, 15 months for 108 lbs works out at a shade under 2lbs a week. It was more dramatic at the start, but everyone's weight loss is and then it gets slower. 

[zerofive]

Is one days rest after it ok to go again the day after?

The short answer is yes. Typically with a full body workout you do one day on, one day off. Listen to your body though; if you feel absolutely fighting fit and strong then there's no need to deny yourself an extra day's training. On/on/off is not unheard of. If your goal is to lose weight, there's almost no reason to take more than one day off between full body workouts in my opinion.

[Ant040689]

Lovely, ta. Played football the day after a full body workout not knowing that that isn't the best idea, felt OK but knew something wasn't right. Talked to my bro about it and he had a go at me saying it was probs the weights session from the day before. I bloody hope so because i played appallingly

[zerofive]

Lovely, ta. Played football the day after a full body workout not knowing that that isn't the best idea, felt OK but knew something wasn't right. Talked to my bro about it and he had a go at me saying it was probs the weights session from the day before. I bloody hope so because i played appallingly

Classic, "it was leg day yesterday bro," get-out when your game is off